Category Archives: MEMS

As the industry is incorporating more MEMS devices with integrated magnetic sensors, they are encountering challenges that cannot be overcome with existing toolsets.  The deposition and magnetic alignment of these materials are critical for proper device performance and require special hardware configurations and process optimization.

As an introduction we will review applications where the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) of magnetically aligned materials is necessary to meet the desired film requirements in high volume manufacturing.  Veeco has optimized the configuration for these materials giving us the controllability and uniformity of magnetic and electrical properties necessary for MEMS devices with integrated magnetic sensors.

The webcast will cover the following topics:

  • Review PVD deposition of magnetically oriented films
  • Application development of  materials, magnetic and film property performance
  • Hardware considerations for the deposition of ferromagnetic materials
  • Challenges associated with the deposition of these materials
  • Tool flexibility for enhanced throughput and high volume manufacturing

March 23, 2012 — The global micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) devices market will hit $11.3 billion by 2017, according to Global Industry Analysts Inc. (GIA).

In coming years, economies of scale will push costs of production lower, enabling faster replacement of current mass-market technologies with MEMS modules. High-volume manufacturing will gain in significance with the gradual commoditization of MEMS devices. MEMS manufacturing technologies like deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) and other process technologies in production and wafer-level bonding for MEMS packaging will positively benefit the market.

Increasing competition in the sector, along with technological advances and falling average selling prices (ASP), will help expand MEMS penetration into diverse applications.

Consumer and automotive electronics are primary growth drivers for MEMS devices, along with telecommunications and the medical end-use industries. MEMS are used in automotive electronics, hard disk drives (HDDs), wireless devices, medical equipment, smartphones and other portable electronics, among others.

Major MEMS players include Analog Devices Inc., Apogee Technology Inc., Bosch Sensortec, Colibrys Ltd., Coventor Inc., Epson Toyocom, Hewlett-Packard, InvenSense Inc., IntelliSense Software Corporation, Kavlico Corporation, Kistler Instrument Corp., LioniX BV, MEMSCAP S.A., Memsic Inc., Micralyne Inc., NeoPhotonics Corporation, Panasonic Corp., Sensonor Technologies, Silicon Microstructures, Inc., STMicroelectronics, TowerJazz, Texas Instruments Inc, among others.

In the medical industry, MEMS are being integrated into microfluidic devices, cancer detection, blood pressure monitoring, inhalers, microneedles, kidney dialysis, etc. MEMS-based insulin pumps and other forms of drug delivery boast enormous commercial potential in coming years. Improved medical & pharmaceutical infrastructure, and increased healthcare spending in emerging nations, will make China and India major medical MEMS spenders.

In the automotive industry, growth will stem from the use of MEMS sensors in government-mandated electronic stability systems (ESC) and tire-pressure monitoring systems (TPMS). More on automotive MEMS applications here.

Europe represents the largest market worldwide for MEMS. Asia-Pacific is forecast to emerge into the fastest growing market, with a projected CAGR of 12.2% over the analysis period. While all key end-user industries are busy recovering from the economic recession, in Europe the MEMS devices market is running into fresh set of challenges. The prolonged sovereign debt crisis, reduced consumer spending, slower economic growth, and troubles in the financial system of Europe are threatening the MEMS industry there, although GIA does not expect another cycle of downturn for the MEMS market. In Europe’s automotive industry, immediate production cutbacks are not likely. Shrewd expansion into developing countries to minimize risk exposure in domestic markets now has the automotive industry in the region better equipped to weather a possible Eurozone slowdown, and pockets of strength in places like Germany are buoying auto sales. Also, the 2007-2009 recession inspired adoption of leaner inventory holding strategies and restructured cost bases.

In the consumer electronics industry, there are emerging signs of consumers shifting to lower-priced products. The telecommunications industry in Europe has until now shown no signs of weakening.

In the industrial sector, despite the challenges ahead and uncertainties over the continued economic stability in Europe, most market indicators for the immediate-term future feature a largely positive outlook for the manufacturing industry in the year 2012.

GIA’s "Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) Devices: A Global Strategic Business Report" provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections (in US$) for major geographic markets. End Use segments analyzed include Commercial/Industrial, Medical/BioMedical, Telecommunication, Computers, and Other Applications. The global MEM devices market is also analyzed by product categories, such as, Accelerometers, Gyroscopes, Inkjet heads, Wafer Probes & Optical MEMS, Pressure Sensors, and Others. Learn more at http://www.strategyr.com/MCP-1169.asp.

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March 23, 2012 — SEMI is seeking papers for technical sessions and presentations at the upcoming SEMICON Europa 2012, October 9-11 in Dresden, Germany. Technical presentation abstracts are due April 30.

SEMICON Europa serves the global microelectronics industry in Europe, with new products and technologies from across the microelectronics supply chain: electronic design automation, device fabrication (wafer processing), and final manufacturing (assembly, packaging, and test). SEMICON Europa also features emerging markets and technologies, including micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), flexible electronics and displays, nano-electronics, solid state lighting (LEDs), and related technologies.

SEMICON Europa 2012 plans to host more than 100 hours of technical sessions and presentations on the design and manufacturing of semiconductors, MEMS, printed and flexible electronics, and related technologies:

• International MEMS/MST Industry Forum, 8-9 October; theme: “New Dynamics in the MEMS Industry”

• Advanced Packaging Conference (APC), 9-10 October; theme “Packaging Solutions for the New Technologies”

• 14th  European Manufacturing Test Conference (EMTC), 10-11 October; theme: “Overcoming New Test Challenges through Cooperation and Innovation”
 
Submit a 200-400 word abstract of original, non-commercial and non-published material to [email protected], indicating in the subject line of the e-mail: “TEST Call for Papers,”  “MEMS Call for Papers” or “Advances Packaging Call for Papers.” The deadline for submitting abstracts is April 30, 2012. Abstracts must clearly detail the nature, scope, content, organization, key points and significance of the proposed presentation.  The abstract should also contain the main author contact details like job title, company, address, telephone and e-mail, with a short biography.

For more information about the conference or submitting abstracts, including guidelines and requirements, visit http://www.semiconeuropa.org/ProgramsandEvents/CallforPapers, or contact Carlos Lee, SEMI Europe, Tel. +32 2 6095334. SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronic manufacturing supply chains.

March 22, 2012 — SensorsCon 2012 was held March 21 at the Santa Clara TechMart Center, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the International Society for Quality Electronic Design (ISQED). This is the first such meeting focusing on sensor technology, with about 60 attendees. As a design conference, the focus was more on system design and architecture rather than on the underlying technology components that I am more accustomed to covering.

MEMS for Internet of Things, mobile personal healthcare
The opening keynote talk was presented by Janusz Bryzek, VP MEMS & Sensor Development at Fairchild Semiconductor, speaking on the emergence of a trillion dollar micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) sensor market. The next generation of Nintendo Wii game controllers will reportedly each contain ~100 MEMS devices to connect gamers with the real world. The MEMS market has reached ~$10 billion, with a 14% 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) — expected to increase to over 50% as new market opportunities are proven. Acceleration of the MEMS R&D cycle will be aided by the development of better software design tools and by the adoption of uniform unit processes.

The much-touted Internet of Things (IoT) would require that internet data transfer capacity grow 1,000x by 2013, to support all of the proposed sensor applications. The ARM Flycatcher, a 1mm2 microcontroller with an average selling price (ASP) of $0.20, is being promoted as the world’s most energy-efficient computer and is targeted at supporting interconnectivity for the IoT.

By 2015, 30% of smart phones are expected to contain a mobile health app, and effectively all smartphones will by 2020. A breath alcohol analyzer app is already on the market for $79. Mobile personal health diagnostics is expected to be a $50B market by 2021.

Sensors in our daily lives
Kevin Shaw, CTO at Sensor Platforms, talked about the myriad ways in which we already interact with sensors every day. Apple’s voice-recognition software Siri represents a high-level integrated sensor system from the automatic activation when you lift the iPhone to your ear to the location-specific speech parsing to interpret and respond to your questions.

Also read: Apple buys most MEMS microphones in 2011

Separating intentional actions from spurious motions is a critical issue for reliable device performance. For example, smartphones contain an optical proximity sensor that works in conjunction with positional sensors to turn off the touch screen when the phone is held up to your ear; thus, “ear dialing” is not a problem. Better solutions are still required to address “butt dialing.” Digital barometers are used for vertical positioning information, with a resolution able to report stairway ascent step by step. Newer phones have three microphones to allow beam steering: the ability to focus on the speaker and cancel extraneous noise.

Crowd sourcing is the use of collective sensor information from multiple users to determine such things as traffic patterns, or the epicenter of an earthquake more quickly and more accurately than the traditional permanent sensors in the ground. The sensors are already widely available on smartphones; what remains is to implement them to their full potential.

Sensor networks
Paul Berenberg of Cubic Global Tracking Solutions spoke on the application of wireless sensor networks to logistics issues, including the thorny security issue of bulk cargo containers. Current systems allow tracking only when they pass through designated reader checkpoints. Real-time continuous container tracking requires a highly reliable secure network with extended battery life regardless of environmental conditions. Such a system uniquely requires a high tolerance for signal congestion, as when many containers are loaded on one ship. The current ceiling seems to be ~10k nodes per network, which is not adequate for large-scale logistics implementation. By the end of this century, global population is predicted to be 10 billion people, each with 100 connections to the IoT. Interested parties are invited to check out the Internet Protocol for Smart Objects (IPSO) alliance at www.ipso-alliance.org.

Terry O’Shea of Intel Labs took us to the edge of the cloud, where he defines Perceptive Edge as the use of untapped capability to interact with our immediate surroundings through sensors connected via cloud computing. Intel’s rapid prototyping platform consists of a suite of modular sensing applications based on existing FCC-approved protocols in conjunction with different physical-sense capabilities. Home energy monitoring can be accomplished with a power line sensor that fingerprints the on/off signature of each household appliance using fast Fourier transform analysis of the power spike it creates. DHS commissioned an airport monitor to sense CO, CO2, NH3 and EtOH that was unexpectedly prone to false positives due to the alcohol content of now-ubiquitous hand sanitizers. Terry’s suggestion regarding IoT is to invest in batteries, rather than routers and electronics, because someone is going to have to change a lot of batteries for all of the IoT sensors.

Qi Chen of Sprint Nextel talked about the security of sensor networks with an eye toward guaranteed delivery of critical alerts using machine-to-machine (M2M) technology. A number of individual components are in concept and feasibility testing now. One less critical application of video face-recognition technology is the ability to track how long people stop to look at a sign or advertisement, and analyze further for gender and approximate age demographics. Location-specific SMS delivery can improve the chances of successful message delivery by keeping track of the receiver’s location to know if it is turned on and is in a good signal area, or if a backup delivery method will be required.

A panel discussion included three of the previous speakers (Bryzek, Shaw, O’Shea) as well as MP Divakar, CEO of Microlytica, a company that provides algorithms for increasing the confidence level in conclusions drawn from IoT sensors. Location- and activity-based advertising is likely to be the next big driver for remote sensing applications, since the market concept brings with it its own development funding source in the advertisers. The question of ethics and privacy issues related to ubiquitous sensing revealed a deep inconsistency between nations and cultures as to what is considered acceptable and what is not. Don’t expect any kind of universal privacy standards to be developed in our lifetime.

The next big app excluding smartphone and health applications include gas monitoring (think homeland security on your cell phone), crowd sensing for weather prediction, and building the infrastructure necessary to support the IoT.

Thomas Watteyne of Dust Networks talked about standards-based reliable wireless sensor networking. Interoperation is being built around IEEE 802.15.4e. Multi-hop network reliability was of particular interest.

William Kao, professor at CalPoly, gave an overview of sensor network elements needed for wireless smart grid and smart city applications. Smart grid is focused on continuity of electrical power distribution. Smart cities hold a promise (or threat) of the integration of security, surveillance, transportation logistics, environmental, industrial, health care and entertainment. Making it easier to find an open parking space may be one of the fringe benefits of such a grand scheme. Broad-scale benefits can be proposed for agriculture as well, such as sensors for precision irrigation, fertilization, and insect infestation. The coming data tsunami became evident once again, requiring not only more bandwidth and system storage, but smarter algorithms for managing data retention and discarding data that has no lasting value.

Medical sensors
Sudhi Gautam, head of Medical Device Solutions for Mphasis, an HP company, discussed the emerging opportunities for sensors in medicine. A critical component of the definition of a medical device is that its function is not dependent on being metabolized; it is an engineering discipline, not a product of chemistry or biology to first order. The band of 400-410MHz has been set aside by the FCC specifically for medical device intercommunication. Endoscopes can today be replaced by a camera pill that can take 57,000 photos as it passes through the entire digestive system in a procedure considerably less invasive than a colonoscopy. I suspect this will eventually result in new posting limits on Snapfish.com.

Michael A. Fury, Ph.D. is director and senior technology analyst at Techcet Group, North Plains, OR.

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March 21, 2012 — Wafer processing equipment provider SPTS Technologies delivered its first vapor hydrogen fluoride (VHF) etch system in China, installing a Primaxx Monarch 3 tool at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT) for dry release etch of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS).
 
SPTS uses HF vapor to etch away sacrificial silicon oxide in MEMS structures, using reduced pressure tailored to release very small features on the die. It combines anhydrous HF gas and alcohol vapor at reduced pressure, creating a wide, stable process window that works with various oxide compositions and thicknesses. The composition remains highly selective to other common MEMS materials, such as aluminum, preventing attack on exposed surfaces. The Primaxx Monarch 3 uses a 3-wafer process module for higher throughput and repeatable etch processes.

SPTS’ HF vapor etch technology reportedly prevents stiction, which occurs during wet etch when the released microstructure and substrate are pulled together by the surface tension of the liquid between them during drying.

SIMIT selected the SPTS dry etch tool for its MEMS accelerometer development project because it releases fine features without stiction. The company also offers timely local support in Shanghai, said Professor Yang Heng from SIMIT

SIMIT is a multidisciplinary institute within the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) that engages in both fundamental and applied research. The Primaxx Monarch 3 system is housed at SIMIT’s facility in Shanghai, China.

SPTS Technologies (a Bridgepoint portfolio company) designs, manufactures, sells, and supports etch, PVD, CVD and thermal wafer processing solutions for MEMS, advanced packaging, light-emitting diode (LED), high-speed RF on gallium arsenide (GaAs), and power management device fab. Learn more at www.spts.com.

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March 19, 2012 — ACUTRONIC released standard, off-the-shelf 2-axis rate tables to test several micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) devices simultaneously. The 21-series is an economical version of the company’s highly customized high-end systems and is primarily made for MEMS manufacturers.

The 21-series tests small inertial measurement units (IMU) or other MEMS sensors. The testers mechanically stimulate MEMS for calibration and performance verification.

An integrated motion controller allows precise measurement and closed-loop control of position, rate, and acceleration. The controller supports a subset of the industry-standard ACUTRONIC Command Language (ACL) for communicating with a host computer.

Suiting use at the MEMS fab, the rate and position tables are designed to handle larger production volumes and integrate easily into the production line.

The 21-series comes in five standard configurations for testing devices used in commercial, medical, industrial, and ground transportation applications.

Access product data at http://www.acutronic.com/fileadmin/cms_files/AUS_DS/Datasheets-2-Axis-Rate-Tables-21-Series.pdf.

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March 19, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Advantest Corporation (TSE:6857, NYSE:ATE) began producing micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) relays, shipping samples in April 2012. The MEMS relays will be used in semiconductor testing equipment, high-speed communications devices, high-frequency wave measurement equipment and their components.

Mass production will begin in January 2013.

Advantest manufactures the MEMS with its proprietary deposition technology, creating 1µm-thick piezoelectric film. This enables a smaller form factor and lower actuation voltage (12V) compared to high-frequency wave relays using electromagnetic or electrostatic actuation. The MEMS device is available in 5.4 x 4.2 x 0.9mm or 2.9 x 3.4 x 0.9mm form factors.

The MEMS are not easily affected by ambient static electricity, like electrostatic relays. The relay also has high reliability, using contact-point control technology honed in Advantest’s semiconductor testing equipment. Using Advantest’s high-frequency measurement technology, the relay can handle up to 20GHz high-frequency transmission, with 50Ω characteristic impedance.

Advantest now plans to introduce products outside the semiconductor testing area, in fields such as automotive and pharmaceutical/medical care.

Advantest provides automatic test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry and measuring instruments used in the design and production of electronic instruments and systems. More information is available at www.advantest.com.

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March 19, 2012 — Semiconductor fab equipment supplier SUSS MicroTec launched the RCD8 manual resist coat and develop platform for R&D and low-volume use in micro electro mechanical system (MEMS), semiconductor packaging, light-emitting diode (LED) and other applications.

The RCD8 can convert from a spin coater, with the proprietary GYRSET closed cover coating technology, to a spray developer. The convertion takes minutes. Install options range from basic manual operation to semi-automated to puddle & spray developer.

The processes developed on the manual RCD8 are easily transitioned to a SUSS MicroTec production tool.

The RCD8 combines SUSS’ multiple dedicated Delta Series tools that served specific applications in MEMS, advanced packaging, and LED fab or the R&D market. All necessary coating and developing processes for these applications are incorporated.

The GYRSET rotating closed cover coating option can be integrated into the RCD8 spin coating module to widen the process window and reduce consummables use on various photoresists and applications. GYRSET allows square substrates and pieces to be coated with a homogenous resist thickness.

Various options can be added in the field to adapt with process changes. The RCD8 hosts a large variety of available chucks and configurations.

SUSS MicroTec, listed on TecDAX of Deutsche Boerse AG, is a leading supplier of equipment and process solutions for microstructuring in the semiconductor industry and related markets. For more information, please visit http://www.suss.com.

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March 19, 2012 — Researchers at Columbia Engineering and University of Pennsylvania, led by Columbia Engineering professor Ken Shepard, developed a way measure nanopores with less error, designing a custom integrated circuit (IC) using commercial semiconductor technology and building the nanopore measurement around the new amplifier chip.

The researchers put the amplifier chip directly into the liquid chamber next to the nanopore, for a cleaner signal. The team could observe single molecules passing through the pore in 1ms, said Jacob Rosenstein, a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering at Columbia Engineering and lead author of the study. "Previously, scientists could only see molecules that stay in the pore for more than 10ms," he explained. Shepard’s group is continuing to improve these techniques, aiming for 10X improvement in the next generation, measuring things that last only 100ns.

Photo. The Columbia Engineering team’s custom multichannel CMOS preamplifier chip, wire bonded to a circuit board with gold wire. SOURCE: Columbia Engineering.

The electronic single-molecule measurement method allows observations in the range of billions of signals per second, as compared to a few thousand photons per second with fluorescent-molecule optical techniques. With optical techniques, "you can’t see anything that happens faster than a few milliseconds, because any image you could take would be too dim," explained Shepard. With electronic measurements, "there is no equivalent to a fluorescent wavelength filter, so even though the signal comes through, it is often buried in background noise."

Classical electrophysiology amplifiers are mostly optimized for slower measurements, noted Shepard, so the team designed its own IC. Rosenstein designed the new electronics and performed related lab work.

The nanopore sensor method took shape with the help of Marija Drndic, a professor of physics at the University of Pennsylvania, who gave a seminar at Columbia Engineering in 2009. Drndic’s group at the University of Pennsylvania fabricated the nanopores that the team then measured in their new system.

Instead of slowing down the DNA, the researchers built faster electronics, combining sensitive electronics with the most sensitive solid-state nanopores, Drndic said. The result is a simple, portable set up that could be used for significantly lower-cost DNA sequencing or other medical applications.

The lab is also working with other electronic single-molecule techniques based on carbon nanotube transistors.

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), and the Office of Naval Research.

Results were published in the Advance Online Publication on Nature Methods’ website on March 18.

March 19, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — CVD Equipment Corporation (Nasdaq:CVV) purchased a new facility in Central Islip, NY, doubling the space for its chemical vapor deposition (CVD), gas control, and other wafer fab equipment assembly.

The new facility also unifies CVD Equipment Corp.’s Application Laboratory in one location, noted Leonard Rosenbaum, president and CEO, who said that the new space will enable "multiple growth opportunities." The Application Laboratory will focus on nano materials manufacturing, pilot/demo lines for nano materials usage in macro-materials and sub-assemblies, and technology transfer/partnerships around nano materials. These product development efforts will be marketed through CVD Materials Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary.

CVD Equipment Corporation (NASDAQ:CVV) makes equipment for the development, design and manufacture of advanced electronic components, materials, and coatings. Customers research, design and manufacture semiconductors, solar cells, graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanowires, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), smart glass coatings, battery and/or ultra capacitor materials, medical coatings, industrial coatings and equipment for surface mounting of components onto printed circuit boards (PCBs).

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